88 NATURAL ARRANGEMENT OF INSECTS. 



small, that they appear, even in the perfect insect, to 

 have been broken off : the antennse are long, the club 

 very slender, cylindrical, and slightly curved; and the 

 anterior thighs armed with a short acute process in the 

 middle. The sides of the lower wings are cut out, to 

 give a free passage to the body ; and all the feet are 

 strong and lengthened. Their colours are not brilliant, 

 but rich and imposing: black or brown is the general 

 ground colour ; this being varied with spotted bands of 

 yellow, red, or sometimes green : in some, the wings are 

 striped with black upon a yellow ground. Their flight 

 is not very rapid or strong, and much resembles that 

 of the garden whites. Their geographic distribution is 

 very wide; for although but two species occur in Eu- 

 rope, both of which have been found in England, those 

 of America and India are numerous, while others of 

 much beauty occur in the remote regions of Australia. 

 The group, however, is most abundant between the 

 tropics ; yet, like all others strictly typical, it is, in its 

 general range, almost universal. 



(79- ) The Pierince, or garden white butterflies, imme- 

 diately succeed. They comprise several distinct genera. 

 In these butterflies, the club of the antennae is always sud- 

 denly enlarged at the top, and much compressed ; while 

 the palpi are clothed with long straggling hairs, and the 

 last joint obviously projects beyond the head. All this 

 will be apparent, on examining one of the common 

 white species found in our gardens. The legs are per- 

 fect: the caterpillars are nearly smooth, merely pro- 

 vided with short downy hairs, thinly scattered over the 

 body : the retractile horns, so general in the last group, 

 are entirely wanting. The ground colour of the perfect 

 insect is generally white ; but in that group which passes 

 into the Papilioninos, there is nearly an equal propor- 

 tion of black; in others (Euterpe Sw.), a similar 

 variation takes place; in all, however, the angles or 

 corners of the wings are much rounded, and they offer 

 no example of tails on the inferior wings : hence en- 

 sues a weaker flight, while their size is moderate : the 



